When someone says “Iceland” to you, the first that that comes to mind isn't a hotbed of computer forensics activity. It may have not broken 50-degrees in Reykjavik last week, but it was plenty warm inside at the Nordic Security Conference where Jason Garman and I delivered our first computer forensics training class to our first class of Vikings.

Unlike the majority of forensics training available today, we didn't teach tools and brute forcing your way through evidence. Instead, we designed a course that reinforced the need to be a well-rounded investigator first, not just a button-pusher. For example, we taught our students that computer forensic cases are more than just searching for image file extensions to find naughty pictures; forensics is also prominently found in first-degree murder trials. The importance of effective communications skills was also stressed: If you perform the best computer forensic exam possible but cannot convey what you did to a jury or judge, you have essentially failed.

I wish we had another day of training.
- NSC 2013 Computer Forensics Student

One of the most interesting and widely-praised things we did was to use raw data from the Casey and Caylee Anthony murder trial. When was the last time you were in a class that used real evidence, not punny pictures of kittens in place of illicit images?

The Basic course we delivered in Iceland is but one of several new courses we'll be delivering in the US (and elsewhere) in 2014. If you'd like more information on our training offerings, or want to know more about NSC 2014, please drop us a line.